New York Jets vs. Miami Dolphins
The New York Jets have faced their worst defeat in recent years. They were defeated by the biggest point’s margin ever and it couldn’t have come at a worst time. Last week the Jets vs New England Patriots game was the highlight
of the season and went a long way in determining the AFC East title. The Jets conceded their first place position to the Patriots in the 45-3 defeat on Monday night football.
Coach Rex Ryan wants to put all that behind him. “We got pummeled, we played terrible, but it's one game,” Ryan said. “Everything we talked about is still attainable.” What the Jets need now is to bounce back and to defeat a division
rival and this Sunday will present them with that chance. If the New York Jets have their way with the 6-6 Dolphins, that would be the end of Miami’s playoff ambitions.
The Jets have a tough schedule ahead of them. They will travel to face division leaders, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Chicago bears and end the season at home against the Buffalo Bills. If New York wants to stay in the race,
they will have to defeat all four of their remaining opponents. It is doable but not very likely. “Its full steam ahead against Miami,” Ryan said.
The Jets have already faced the Dolphins earlier in the season. New York was comfortable defeating Miami in that game. Mark Sanchez threw 256 yards in just 15 passes, 3 of them touchdowns. New York’s running backs worked their
magic for 146 yards with LaDainian Tomlinson scoring a touchdown. That is the kind of offense New York needs to get back to if they want to defeat the Dolphins and especially if they want to stay in the race for the division.
Sanchez is returning from one of the worst performances of his career and heading straight at a Dolphins team that is defensively quite strong. Miami’s defence ranks 4th in the league against the pass and that would
prove to be a real problem for Sanchez.
The Dolphins’ pass rush ranks fourth in the league and at 300.8 yards average per game, their defence is one of the best in the league. They have caught 5 interceptions in the last 6 games. The Dolphins have put 29 sacks on opposing
teams’ quarterbacks. Leading Miami’s defenders is linebacker Cameron Wake. He has 12 sacks this season and has forced two fumbles. Between Wake, Yeremiah Bell, and Chris Clemons, the Dolphins have 6 forced fumbles.
The Jets defence also needs to spruce things up. Last Monday night they proved to be completely helpless against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. Brady passed 326 yards and threw 4 touchdowns with Ben Jarvus Green-Ellis
rushing 2 more. Conceding just 19.3 yards per game, the Jets rank as the 6th best defensive team in the league.
That was their second worst defensive performance. Statistically the Jets defence was at its worst against the Miami Dolphins in September. With Chad Henne at the helm, the Dolphins passed 352 yards and rushed another 84. But since
September, Chad’s performance has been slipping. He has thrown 14 touchdowns since the game against the Jets. In the last two games, Henne has been sacked and intercepted 4 times each. His last interception cost Miami the game against the Cleveland Browns
in the final quarter of the game.
Overall Henne’s 12 touchdowns passes have cost 15 interceptions. He has a passer rating of 77.5. Chad Pennington was supposed to have returned to the Quarterback Position but his shoulder injury had not completely healed, leaving
Henne to lead the Dolphins.
“The guy's a young player,” Miami’s coach Tony Sparano said. “At the end of the year we'll have to sit down, and from our standpoint we have to evaluate the whole big picture. But there are obviously some areas there where Chad
needs to continue to improve.”
Henne’s future prospects hinge on the Dolphins performance in this season. Both are in Jeopardy and the Jets are going to be their latest challenge.
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